In an egregious abuse of the spirit of the law, my brother Darren is being tried for possession of "sexual depictions of minors". He faces 10 years in prison, the rest of his life on a sex offender registry. He is 21 years old. Read the whole story below:

In July 2015, my brother Darren was wrongly accused of being in
possession of “child pornography”. This led to his arrest and him
being charged with extortion and possession of sexual depictions of
minors.

Here is what happened:

Someone on Darren's IP address used a fake Facebook account to
contact and proposition a young woman whose nude pictures he'd come
into possession of. The woman contacted the police, which led to
them tracing the IP address to my brother’s home. Subsequently, the
police raided Darren's home, confiscated his computer for
investigation, and he was charged with extortion. They allegedly
found multiple nude/semi-nude images of young women on his computer.
The police tracked down the women in the photos to ascertain their
ages; some several hours away. I have my own theories on why the
Ellensburg Police Department would put such immense resources into
this investigation, but Darren's attorney has advised that I keep
them to myself for the time being. In any case, it was odd behavior
on their part.

Some of the young women in the images that were allegedly on
Darren’s computer were ages 16-17. There did not appear to be any
issues of consent, as the images were self-uploaded to Tumblr and
Instagram. Darren had no way of knowing or confirming their ages.
The police also allegedly found photos that his longterm girlfriend
had sent him. She is 18 months younger than Darren (but was for sure
still above the age of consent which is 16 in the state of
Washington). As a result of the investigation Darren was charged
with 60 felony counts of possession of sexual depictions of minors.
He was 19 years old at the time.

The County dropped the extortion charge when it was found to be
unsubstantiatable. They offered him a plea bargain for seven years in prison. Cases like Darren’s are often plead out, and most commonly the
result is probation. When he turned down the offer of seven years
the extortion charge was reinstated. Some of the possession charges
have since been dropped, but it is still an uphill battle. Jury
selection starts January 24th, 2017 with him facing 14 of the
original 60 possession charges. 14 felony charges of 1st and
2nd-degree possession of sexual depictions of minors for a young man
who has essentially, allegedly, been sent pictures from his
girlfriend and looked at porn on the internet.

The effect of this case on Darren's life and the life of my
family has been immense:

- Darren graduated from Perry Tech with a certification in
welding technology. He has been unable to accept lucrative job
offers because they would take him out of Washington State. He has
not been allowed to leave the state during the 18 months his case
has been pending. As a result, he was legally restricted from
attending our sister's wedding this fall as it was in Oregon.

- My sister's former boyfriend and the father of her child, has
cited Darren's case in their custody proceeding regarding their
daughter. Police arrived in the middle of the night and took away
her then year-old child because the baby’s father had filed for an
emergency restraining order. In the order he alleged that she was
"living with, and allowing contact with a minor child, a man
who has been charged with over 40 counts of child pornography"
and that their infant daughter was "in immediate danger"
of being "sexually assualted" or "sexually
molested". Darren is not a child molester, is not accused of
child molestation, nor does he live with my sister and parents.
According to my parents, the process server that night attempted to
take pictures inside their home, asking my youngest brother (who, by
the way, is a minor) “where’s the kid-fucker?”

- The judge in my sister's custody case was the same judge
overseeing Darren's criminal case until her retirement in December
2016. She dropped the emergency order but put a restraining order in
place so that Darren may not have contact with his niece. This has
been devastating for him and confusing for her. One day recently the
baby saw a picture of Darren on my mother’s refrigerator, kissed it
and began baby-babbling to it. My sister called me, sobbing to tell
me about this.

- The Daily Record, Ellensburg's local newspaper, has repeatedly
published the story with shockingly incorrect details on the case.
Every time they do this, Darren's landscaping business loses
clientele and he is aggressively harassed in person and online. The
way he's been treated is disgusting and gut-wrenching for us to
witness.

- Regardless of the outcome, his defense and fees will total nearly $60,000 by the end of the trial. If he is convicted and has to appeal,
it will be higher.

This case has the potential to set a dangerous precedent in many ways:

- If convicted, Darren faces up to 10 years in prison for what
has been widely (and inaccurately) portrayed as "kiddie
porn". If (and there is an IF) he survives, and manages to
avoid the severe psychological trauma of a long prison sentence, he
will have to register as a sex offender.

Social stigma around sexual offenses mean registered offenders
are shunned by society, and are often targets for violence. Strict
limitations on where one can live and work when on a registry
present enormous obstacles to re-entering society and becoming a
productive citizen. Darren's young, promising life would effectively
be over just as it was getting started.

- This case is a prime example of the harmful ways in which
society pathologizes young people's sexuality. Darren has been
branded a "pervert" and a criminal for doing what every
teenager (and arguably every person) does every single day: looking at stimulating images of other
people. In an age where every teenager has unlimited access to
erotic content, it is hard to look at Darren's case and not wonder
if your own children could be next in line. Does their significant
other ever send them “sexy” selfies? Do they take pictures of their
own body and send it out into the universe? Does this common
practice make them a purveyor of child pornography?

- The implications of this case with regard to the young women
whose images Darren is accused of having are particularly disturbing
to me as woman, a career visual artist, and a feminist. The court is
saying that these young women, all of whom uploaded
"risque" pictures of themselves to the internet, should be
treated as victims. This strips them of their right to sexual
expression, as well as bodily autonomy, and it leaves them open to
potential legal consequences. Could these young women be legally
considered producers of child pornography?

Darren is a loving and dedicated son, grandson, brother, uncle,
boyfriend and friend; a hard worker and a good kid. I realize that
anything having to do with teenagers and sex, or sexual offenses in
general, makes people uncomfortable. That said, your attention to
this case is desperately important to me and my family. Your support
is vital in this trying time. Please join me in helping Darren
mitigate the costs of his defense and helping to reunite our family.
We are counting on the empathy and support of people like you. Thank
you for your time.

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